Let My People Know

"There are no words to describe the Transcendent"


No created intellect, whether of man or angel, can possibly bridge the gap between the works of Creation and the Creator. 

Just as the creature is unable to grasp the Infinite Divine, so is it unable to grasp His attributes. 

Indeed, when speaking of any of the Divine attributes or Sefirot, we are only bringing the incomprehensible down to our human level because we are confronted with an insoluble dilemma. 

We can either use terms that are obviously imprecise and incorrect, but have some meaning for us as humans, or we can try to use precise terms that only make us totally inarticulate, unable even to begin to express ourselves. 

In a sense, as soon as one wishes to be absolutely correct in speech, there are no words any longer, none that satisfy the requirements.

To illustrate the concept of a lack of words, let us take a fact from the world of physics.

Light waves have different lengths, and the ultraviolet light waves, for instance, are known to be invisible to us. 

There are certain creatures, such as bees, however, who can see at least some of these ultraviolet light waves. 

In short, part of that which, for us, is total darkness is for them light. 

Now the question is: What kind of light or darkness is it? 

We are in a situation where we have no words, or even concepts, to describe something, a color, that obviously exists.

In like manner, we can say that there are no words to describe the Transcendent. 

But since, as we believe, God does wish to have some contact with us, He is prepared to suffer the imprecision of our language. 

–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
 
From The Sustaining Utterance by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz